Ilsur Metshin: “Such an experience seems fantastic, but let's dream”

(KZN.RU, February 25, Alena Miroshnichenko). Today Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, met with students and teachers of the Kazan State Agrarian University. The visit to the university took place within the framework of reporting meetings with the population. However, taking into account the specifics of the audience, the Mayor did not dwell on the numbers of the report and built communication with students on questions and answers, told what helped him achieve his goals, implement his plans and realize the boldest projects.

The official part of the meeting was kept as small as possible. Ilsur Metshin reminded of large-scale overhaul programs for medical institutions (68 health facilities were repaired for a total of 1.7 billion rubles), kindergartens (34 ones), and houses of culture, which were visited by repair teams for the first time since their construction. Last year, Kazan hosted the World Cup, which was attended by guests from all continents, met a 3-millionth tourist. All this allowed tourism to become a full-fledged sphere of the urban economy. “We are the capital of Tatarstan and we strive to ensure that we have all the best. Kazan is a comfortable, safe, quiet, beautiful city where you can realize all your opportunities, engage in sports and culture”, said I. Metshin.

After that, the questions have been asked. One of the students, the author of the Farmers Forest development project in the Privolzhsky district of Kazan, asked the Mayor about the fate of this territory. The Mayor said that work is now underway on the General Plan of the city until 2035, where a separate section is devoted to the natural-ecological framework of Kazan. He added that the territory from Fermskoye Highway in the direction of the international airport will actively develop. This is a serious growth point for the capital of Tatarstan, but at the same time, the green frame will definitely remain.

Leonid Egorov, a student of the KSUAE, asked the Mayor about the future of the university agro-park, which occupies a territory of one hectare and where old maples grow. I. Metshin promised to pay close attention to the agro-park, which this year celebrates its centenary anniversary. “It is important to think about which trees we order and plant there. This year, the program of parks and public squares has already been approved, but we will start the work”, said the Mayor.

Rinat Kiyamov, a university student, asked the Mayor about the further development of the system “People's control”. The Mayor replied that “People’s control” is one of the good ways to get feedback from citizens. Today Kazan people not only leave complaints in this system, but also write wishes, recommendations, and their own vision of situations. Such interaction is much more effective for solving the problem, believes the Mayor. Ilsur Metshin reminded that one of the municipal resources, the system “Open Kazan”, was awarded the Russian Government Prize at the Forum in Sochi. Vitaly Mutko, the deputy chairman of the Government of the RF, presented the award for the victory to Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT.

No less relevant was the transport subject. University buildings are located in different parts of the city. Students have to spend a lot of time and money to get from one building to another, for example, from the city center to the metro station “Gorki”. In this regard, Farida Nezhmetdinova, a teacher at the KSUAE, asked about the possibility of material compensation for students' expenses on transport. The Mayor of the city noted that he was familiar with the petition, which collected 45000 signatures, but the solution of the problem is beyond the competence of the city authorities. “Compensation or the introduction of preferential travel is only a matter of money. Unfortunately, the city has no such money yet. Kazan collects 157 billion rubles in taxes a year, and only 30 billion rubles remain in Kazan. The rest goes to higher budgets”, he explained.

In addition, I. Metshin shared with the audience his dream of introducing free public transport in the city. He noted that this requires economic stability at all levels and a large tax base. “There are about 15 cities in the world with such a system. People start to spend saved money on culture, going to the movies, theaters, concerts, museums. The number of people who return to the city treasury the amount the city budget has invested in these years for the fifth or sixth year begins to grow. The culture of people is increasing. This experience is, of course, seems fantastic, but let's dream. In addition, in such cities, the number of cars on the roads is reduced by 30-35%. The environment is improving and tourism is developing, which attracts the same students with a limited budget”, he said.

The questions that were asked to the Mayor also concerned education and vocational guidance. The Mayor was offered to create specialized agricultural classes in schools, hold meetings with business representatives and the Executive Committee at the university, as well as attract students to an internship in the City Hall.

 “When choosing a municipal service, you should understand that you need the ability to serve people, to endure, to live for others and for the sake of others, to give your personal time, your energy, your knowledge, yourself. But it is an incomparable pleasure when it gives first results, when you hear the gratitude of the citizens. If you agree, we are ready to come to you and will be happy to see you in an internship and as our employees”, he added. He urged the students to organize a group that plans to have a summer internship at the Executive Committee.

The questions raised at the meeting related to different areas, but all were relevant. Among other things, there were proposals to organize agricultural specialized classes and to include in the competition for the Mayor’s scholarship the nomination “Urban Agriculture”.